4.3 Update is messed up. How to downgrade?General

My wife's S3 was just upgraded to the newest OS version 4.3. Ever since, it will not stay connected to WiFi, the mobile data is spotty, and the overall signal is worse than it ever was. My question: How to downgrade to the previous version that was working perfectly before Samsung started pushing notifications to upgrade every day and we finally gave in? I am not interested in rooting as there is too much time left on the contract to be messing with that. Any suggestions? Oh, and it is the Sprint version in the US.

You can't, Once you updated the phone it will forever be 4.3. Not only that, This latest update installed Knox, Which allegedly makes it impossible to root your phone, which would allow you to go back to an older rom.

You can't, Once you updated the phone it will forever be 4.3. Not only that, This latest update installed Knox, Which allegedly makes it impossible to root your phone, which would allow you to go back to an older rom.

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I know the OP said no rooting interest, but just to set the record straight, rooting is possible after the Knox-infused update. It will also not be forever 4.3. What is true is that Knox will always be a part of the phone from here on out. As long as you don't mind tripping the Knox flag, which voids your warranty in much the same way as rooting always has, except that now Samsung can prove it with no way to mask the evidence, rooting and running a ROM of your choice is just the same as it always has been. The danger lies in trying to replace the Knox bootloader with a bootloader associated with a previous build. This would be achieved, once rooted, by pushing a .tar file, via Odin, which was designed to restore a previous version of "stock," at which point Knox will step in and virtually destroy your phone for all intents and purposes-there is no known fix for this type of hard brick. Realistically, rooting is an awesome option for any device if you want to truly make it your own, and when it comes to the latest crap that Samsung is pushing, it is that much better of an option, as long as you are the type of person who is willing to invest some time and effort researching what you are about to do to your phone and are physically careful with your several hundred dollar device, as in you aren't going to do anything stupid that would require warranty in the first place. What frustrates me as well is that semi-informed replies like this can lead to negative stereotypes about rooting and its benefits; admittedly, currently there is so much misinformation about Knox and its possible consequences that I am not surprised that very few people have a grasp of what is really going on. Long story short, I would highly recommend rooting, done in an informed and proper manner, and then you can regain all that you have lost by accepting the upgrade. As a side note, if you had been rooted in the first place, there are fixes that have been developed which would have enabled the update prompt to be disabled and become a non-issue in the first place.

Thanks for clearing that up mate. Youre right, theres a lot of confusion about this udate and knox.
OP the UK s3's are receiving a fix to the update. Id wait for sprint to do something to fix it if you really dont want to root :thumbup:

Thanks for clearing that up mate. Youre right, theres a lot of confusion about this udate and knox.
OP the UK s3's are receiving a fix to the update. Id wait for sprint to do something to fix it if you really dont want to root :thumbup:

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Thanks for your post as well, obviously I am not going to have knowledge specific to the international carriers as I am in the States!

What frustrates me as well is that semi-informed replies like this can lead to negative stereotypes about rooting and its benefits; admittedly, currently there is so much misinformation about Knox and its possible consequences that I am not surprised that very few people have a grasp of what is really going on.

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Negative stereotype on rooting? What I said had no impact what so ever on the rooting of phones, Rather the impact of what knox may or may not (Allegedly) have on rooting..I said allegedly, Did not say it WILL, Said Allegedly. If it was me, Do your homework and research and find out if allegedly is true. There is just as much information on Knox blocking root as there is Knox NOT blocking root on the internet. Obviously if one finds it true to be possible, Then it's pretty clear it won't forever be 4.3.

You can't, Once you updated the phone it will forever be 4.3. Not only that, This latest update installed Knox, Which allegedly makes it impossible to root your phone, which would allow you to go back to an older rom.

Click to expand...

I can clear this up. First, struckn is one of the most knowledgable members I've come across since I came over here. He has yet to pass information that I, or anyone else, has had to come behind and correct or update. So to set the record straight, installing the official 4.3 OTA MK5 build either OTA or Kies will definitely install the Knox Bootloader on your phone, forever, or until someone figures out how to get rid of it, but from what some guys way smarter than me have told me, that isn't happending anytime soon. Secondly, you can absolutely root your phone if you have the Knox bootloader. Just like any other rooting process, you flash the CWM of choice via Odin first. But unlike other builds, doing so with this bootloader will trip the Knox "count" and you're warranty is now voided, but you'll have CWM, which you can then flash the zip file of SuperSu Update 1.8.0 and voila, you have root. I have only had success using Philz Touch Recovery to get Super Su to stick. CWM did not work for me. Here's the link to both recovery and SuperSu, if you're interested. Enjoy, and good luck.

Note: This has been confirmed for the Sprint/VM/Boost versions of the SIII. Make sure you read and search if you have a version other than SPH-L710

Negative stereotype on rooting? What I said had no impact what so ever on the rooting of phones, Rather the impact of what knox may or may not (Allegedly) have on rooting..I said allegedly, Did not say it WILL, Said Allegedly. If it was me, Do your homework and research and find out if allegedly is true. There is just as much information on Knox blocking root as there is Knox NOT blocking root on the internet. Obviously if one finds it true to be possible, Then it's pretty clear it won't forever be 4.3.

Click to expand...

You can still root 4.3 with KNOX you just can't roll back to 4.1.2. If you do you'll brick your phone. I see you're on Virgin Mobile. There is a guide in the Virgin Mobile root section that explains how to root 4.3. The only thing that's really changed is you'll trip the Knox counter and void your warranty. Something rooting already did anyway only now Samsung has proof.

You can still root 4.3 with KNOX you just can't roll back to 4.1.2. If you do you'll brick your phone. I see you're on Virgin Mobile. There is a guide in the Virgin Mobile root section that explains how to root 4.3. The only thing that's really changed is you'll trip the Knox counter and void your warranty. Something rooting already did anyway only now Samsung has proof.

Negative stereotype on rooting? What I said had no impact what so ever on the rooting of phones, Rather the impact of what knox may or may not (Allegedly) have on rooting..I said allegedly, Did not say it WILL, Said Allegedly. If it was me, Do your homework and research and find out if allegedly is true. There is just as much information on Knox blocking root as there is Knox NOT blocking root on the internet. Obviously if one finds it true to be possible, Then it's pretty clear it won't forever be 4.3.

Click to expand...

Feel free to re-read the very first line of what you quoted from me originally: see the word can? Nowhere did I assert, as if it was fact, that a reply like yours will absolutely cause people to take a negative view about rooting. Therefore, when I say "...can lead to negative stereotypes" it is just a statement of opinion on my part, not an assertion of fact. I have done my homework very thoroughly as well, but my friends jdsingle76, funkylogik, and mydian have already made that clear as well.

I wish is have seen this thread before taking my phone to the sprint repair store. The OTA totally borked my gps yesterday. So they set me up with an appointment today. When I got there the tech said the only way he could fix it was to flash back to 4.1.2 and hopefully the update d/l wouldn't cause a problem with the gps. After being there for 2 hours he came back out to tell me he had been able to flash the old software, but had bricked my phone in the process. Guess who sprint is sending a replacement to? I'm going to call the customer care and ask them to make sure it isn't already upgraded. And hopefully there is some way to keep the ota from happening on my replacement.
UPDATE: I'VE NOW RECOVERED the unrecoverable using Kies recovery which Reinstalled the 4.3 update and now, my gps seems to be working as before.

I can clear this up. First, struckn is one of the most knowledgable members I've come across since I came over here. He has yet to pass information that I, or anyone else, has had to come behind and correct or update. So to set the record straight, installing the official 4.3 OTA MK5 build either OTA or Kies will definitely install the Knox Bootloader on your phone, forever, or until someone figures out how to get rid of it, but from what some guys way smarter than me have told me, that isn't happending anytime soon. Secondly, you can absolutely root your phone if you have the Knox bootloader. Just like any other rooting process, you flash the CWM of choice via Odin first. But unlike other builds, doing so with this bootloader will trip the Knox "count" and you're warranty is now voided, but you'll have CWM, which you can then flash the zip file of SuperSu Update 1.8.0 and voila, you have root. I have only had success using Philz Touch Recovery to get Super Su to stick. CWM did not work for me. Here's the link to both recovery and SuperSu, if you're interested. Enjoy, and good luck.

Note: This has been confirmed for the Sprint/VM/Boost versions of the SIII. Make sure you read and search if you have a version other than SPH-L710

I am going to try this way. I have tried 6 other ways to root my phone after the update all ending with failure. I noticed in CWM and other recoveries that I cant see inside the root folder. Hopefully with this way, It will work and I can stop wanting to punish my phone.

I wish is have seen this thread before taking my phone to the sprint repair store. The OTA totally borked my gps yesterday. So they set me up with an appointment today. When I got there the tech said the only way he could fix it was to flash back to 4.1.2 and hopefully the update d/l wouldn't cause a problem with the gps. After being there for 2 hours he came back out to tell me he had been able to flash the old software, but had bricked my phone in the process. Guess who sprint is sending a replacement to? I'm going to call the customer care and ask them to make sure it isn't already upgraded. And hopefully there is some way to keep the ota from happening on my replacement.
UPDATE: I'VE NOW RECOVERED the unrecoverable using Kies recovery which Reinstalled the 4.3 update and now, my gps seems to be working as before.